Suriya - Rakeysh OmPrakash Mehra Karna Called Off After Kalki 2898 AD

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's much-anticipated mythological drama, Karna, has reportedly been temporarily halted due to the current box-office downturn and market instability The film, a retelling of the Mahabharata from Karna's perspective, is one of the most ambitious projects in recent times.

Suriya is expected to play the lead role in this magnum opus, with Nayanthara speculated to be portraying Draupadi. Janhvi Kapoor's name also popped up as one of the leads and most of the cast and crew has been finalised. 

Reportedly after known that 'Kalki 2898 Ad' was also dealt with Mahabharatha with Prabhas doing Karna's character, and most importantly the massive scale of the project, makers dropped the idea of retelling Mahabharatha as it would be massive task to overcome the standards set by 'Kalki 2898 Ad' in terms of VFX and scale. 

The decision came after producers Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani realized that the production cost was exceeding  Rs 500 crore and yet they are not confident to pulloff something like 'Kalki 2898 Ad'.  The makers realized that it could go higher with the VFX involved. Given how important the movie is to them, they don't wish to cut corners.

So, they have put it on hold. Instead, they have taken a call to greenlight five small-size films and explore Karna at a later stage when the industry's economic health improves.